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Raider Nation News

Week of May 11, 2020

Raider Nation News

Week of May 11, 2020

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Atholton Families,

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope everyone has taken the opportunity to express their gratitude to all our mothers and the work they do day in and day out to support their families. I truly appreciate all our mothers do to support our school. THANK YOU! Given our unique circumstances, I hope you have found a way to honor our mothers and those that fill that role in our lives.

As you know, all Maryland Public Schools are closed for the remainder of the year. While we are all saddened by the fact that we will not return to Atholton this school year, it does not mean that we have stopped our Continuity of Learning Plan. We will continue with our check-ins and submission of work as normal. HCPSS is now working on a plan to allow both staff and students to retrieve items that may have been left in the building. Please stay tuned for more information on this retrieval plan.

We are inching closer and closer to an official announcement regarding our virtual graduation. I anticipate an announcement this week that will detail the specifics of the virtual graduation and our graduation date! Please stay tuned. An email blast went out last week for a final push to order caps and gowns as they will be needed for the virtual graduation. The deadline to place your order for cap and gown is Tuesday, May 12. You may place your order at www.balfour.com. We will be developing a distribution plan for caps and gowns once the shipment arrives. Additionally, I am thrilled to report that we will also distribute cords and stoles during this time as well. The graduation window is June 1 - June 9 so we still have a few weeks to prepare.

As the last day for seniors approaches (May 20), there are several activities being planned. This week is Senior Spirit Week. Each day is highlighted below. On May 19, the PTSA and school will be hosting a Senior Driveby Breakfast. The PTSA has a gift for our seniors and the senior class has a breakfast gift card. We will be distributing strict protocols later in the week along with a route for students / families to follow. Additionally, Howard County Police will be on site to help monitor and direct things. This will be a good practice for our cap and gown distribution. Our Senior Awards Slideshow and Athletics Awards will be posted on May 29 and we will include the Virtual Stars we had our seniors decorate as well. If they have not done that, please contact Ms. Meledick ASAP at Dana_Meledick@hcpss.org. Lastly, please work with our seniors to begin to assemble all of their school obligations -- textbooks, uniforms, chromebooks, etc. We will be clearing student obligations at the time of cap and gown distribution. Start hunting for those items now! All cords and stoles will be also be distributed at this time. It will more than likely be the week of May 25 that we distribute materials.

As a result of the closing of schools for the year, the prom, scheduled for June 6, has officially been canceled. We will be working to schedule another event either this summer or early next year that will allow our seniors to come together in-person to celebrate.

In keeping with honoring our senior spring athletes, this week we are honoring our baseball and softball senior athletes. Please be sure to view their highlight pages below.

Lastly, regarding the holiday on May 25 (Memorial Day), there will need to be an adjusted distance learning schedule for May 26-29. More information will be provided as the schedule is finalized.

Schedule for Distance Learning

By 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, teachers will have posted assignments in Canvas. Students will submit work through Canvas by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 1, 2020. Regular class check-ins will follow the schedule below. Teachers will share the meeting time with students via Canvas notification

Monday

Log on for weekly assignments (9:00 a.m.)

Period 4A Google Meet Check-In: 1:00-1:45 p.m. OR 2:00-2:45 p.m.

Tuesday

Period 1 Google Meet Check-in: 8:00-8:45 a.m. OR 9:00-9:45 a.m.

Period 4B Google Meet Check-in: 1:00-1:45 p.m. OR 2:00-2:45 p.m.

Wednesday

Period 2 Google Meet Check-in: 8:00-8:45 a.m. OR 9:00-9:45 a.m.

Period 5 Google Meet Check-in: 1:00-1:45 p.m. OR 2:00-2:45 p.m.

Thursday

Period 3 Google Meet Check-in: 8:00-8:45 a.m. OR 9:00-9:45 a.m.

Period 6 Google Meet Check-in: 1:00-1:45 p.m. OR 2:00-2:45 p.m.

Friday

Submit assignments by 10:00 a.m.

Important Information

AP Exams Start This Week

Testing starts Monday, May 11th, for Physics C and United States Government and Politics. A few final reminders as you go into testing next week:

E-Tickets will be sent 2 days before your exam via email and in myap.collegeboard.org . Review slides 5-8 in the College Board AP Testing Guide for E-Ticket details. Please be prepared to login 30 minutes before the exam to complete the student information pages. If you wish to cancel an exam, do not login with the E-ticket.

Review the Exam Security page to be sure that you do not conduct any activity that would result in invalidation of your score.

Review slides 11-16 in the College Board AP Testing Guide to prepare for submitting responses. Be sure that you put your AP ID at the top of any response.

We hope you feel prepared for your exams and ready to demonstrate your knowledge. If you run into technical issues that impact your results, please notify the College Board via cb.org/requestmakeup. Please visit the HCPSS Grades and Testing FAQ for additional resources.

Assistance with School Supplies

HCPSS has partnered with the Bright Minds Foundation to provide school supplies to students who lack internet access and are unable to participate in online distance learning. The packs include a single subject notebook, pencils and/or pens, crayons or colored pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, and highlighter.

School supplies will be distributed at the HCPSS Grab-N-Go meal sites (Links to an external site.) on Friday, May 8, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A student or family member may pick up supplies for their family. One or two packs will be provided to each family depending on the number of students.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about needing school supplies or other needs your child may have while learning from home.

PTSA Above and Beyond Awards

Nominate Faculty & Staff Members for Above and Beyond Awards: Parents & Students, although we are not in the school building, the PTSA would still like to recognize faculty & staff members who have made a real difference and have gone “Above and Beyond” the normal call of duty this school year. Every year the PTSA presents “Above and Beyond Awards” to staff/faculty members who go out of their way and make the extra effort to support students. Staff members are recognized in three categories: Academic, Extracurricular, and Student Services/Support (e.g., office staff, Student Services, custodians). You can nominate one staff member in each category.